Revolutionary War Research Project
Bonnieville Elementary School 8th Grade
You’ll find everything you need to know about your project here!
1.Due Dates Calendar
2.General Directions and Scoring Information
3.Suggested Sources
4.How to Write a Notecard
5.Outline for Research Paper
6.How to Write a Bibliography
7.What to Include on Your Poster
8.Giving Your Presentation
9.Rubrics for Each Section
DUE DATES
Note Cards DueDecember 16, 2010
Rough Draft DueJanuary 7, 2011
Note Cards DueJanuary 15, 2011
Final Copy DueJanuary 15, 2011
SpeechJanuary 15, 2011
PosterJanuary 15, 2011
General Instructions
1.Your due dates are listed on the calendar in the beginning of this packet.Due dates are firm!If you don’t have each part completed by the due date, you will receive a 5% deduction on your grade for each day it is late!
2.You will need to find 2 internet sources and 2 book sources for information
3.Each section of this project has specific directions.Follow them and you’ll have a great project.Each section will also have its own grade.
4.The final copy of your essay must be typed.If you have a computer at home, please type it there.If you do not, you will be given time to type it at school.
5.The final copy is due January 18, 2011.On this date, you must turn in your notecards, rough draft, final draft, bibliography, and poster.
6.Your writing will be graded using the writing rubric.A copy is included.
7.You must give a three to five minute presentation to the class.
8.You must provide your own poster board for the poster part of this project.
People of Interest
You might want to choose one of these people as the topic of your research report.
King George III
Patrick Henry
Thomas Jefferson
George Washington
Charles Cornwallis
Benedict Arnold
Nathanael Greene
Paul Revere
Deborah Sampson
Henry Knox
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
James Madison
Phillis Wheatly
Mercy Otic Warren
Sam Adams
Benjamin Franklin
John Adams
Thomas Paine
Abigail Adams
Ethan Allen
Nathan Hale
John Hancock
Betsy Ross
Marquis de Lafayette
Alexander Hamilton
General InternetSites
You might find the following Internet sites helpful for your research.
The Blue Darter’s Guide to the American Revolution
http://darter.ocps.k12.fl.us*
American History
www.earlyamerica.com
www.dell.homestead.com*
www.ctssar.org
www.atozkidsstuff.com*
http://odur.let.rug.nl*
Encyclopedias
www.encarta.com
http://encyclopedia.com
Revolutionary War Biographies
http://emints.more.net*
http://rims.k12.ca.us*
www.looksmart.infoplease.com*
Internet Sites
Specific People
King George III
www.britannia.com/history
www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk
www.royal.gov.uk
www.kirtland.cc.mi.us*
Patrick Henry
www.law.ou.edu/hist/henry.html
www.lexrex.com/bios
Ethan Allen
www.ethanallen.org
www.virtualvermont.com*
www.ethan-allen.org*
8
Marquis de Lafayette
www.ushistory.org
www.thinkquest.org
www.pbs.org
www.marquisdelafayette.net
http://library.advanced.org*
Nathanael Greene
http://member.aol.com*
www.qmfound.com*
www.nathanael.greene.net*
George Washington
http://library.thinkquest.org
www.whitehouse.gov
www.history.org
http://xroads.virginia.edu
www.americanpresidents.org
Benjamin Franklin
www.fi.edu/franklin
www.incwell.com/biographies*
Abigail Adams
www.whitehouse.gov
Benedict Arnold
www.morristourism.org*
www.heroswelcome.com*
www.benedictarnold.org
Thomas Paine
http://libertyonline.hypermall.com
www.bartleby.com/133
www.media-visions.com*
www.thomas-paine.com*
Thomas Jefferson
www.pbs.org/jefferson
www.whitehouse.gov
www.bibliomania.com
http://etext.virginia.edu*
www.presidentjefferson.com
www.constitution.org/tj/jeff*
John Adams
http://encarta.msn.com
www.whitehouse.gov
http://library.thinkquest.org
www.universalway.org*
www.cyber-north.com*
Charles Cornwallis
http://jrshelby.com
www.encyclopedia.com
www.infoplease.com
Deborah Sampson
http://userpages.aug.com*
www.rootsweb.com*
www.canton.org
Nathan Hale
www.armyrotc.uconn.edu*
www.seanet.com*
http://hale.ssd.k12.wa.us*
Molly Pitcher
http://russell.gresham.k12.or.us*
http://sill-www.army.mil*
www.rootsweb.com*
www.cumberlink.com*
John Hancock
www.colonialhall.com
www.norfacad.pvt.k12.va.us*
Paul Revere
www.richmond.edu*
www.paulreverehouse.org
Betsy Ross
www.ushistory.org
www.usflag.org
http://rims.k12.ca.us*
willihttp://prism.troyst.edu*
Alexander Hamilton
http://americanrevwar.homestead.com/files/hamilt.htm*
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~cap/ham/hamilton.html*
Phillis Wheatley
http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/winter96/wheatley.html*
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/aframerwriters/a/philliswheatley.htm*
Sam Adams
http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/signers/adams_s.htm+
http://www.patriotresource.com/amerrev/people/patriots/samadams.html*
James Madison
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/jamesmadison*
http://www.notablebiographies.com/Lo-Ma/Madison-James.html*
Mercy Otic Warren
http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312848/mowarren.htm*
http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/ushistory/mercyotiswarren.htm*
Research Paper Outline
I.Introduction
II.General biography
Tell where/when s/he was born.
Tell about family members & background. (Were they wealthy?What was their occupation - farmers?Shopkeepers?)
Is there something interesting about his/her childhood?
What was his/her educational background?
Was s/he married?
Did s/he have children?
What are some interesting things about his/her post-war years?
Where/when did s/he die?
III. Contribution to the Revolutionary War
What did s/he do?
Why was it important – what was the effect on the outcome or morale in the war?
IV.Evaluation of his/her contribution
What would you have done in his/her place?Do you think s/he made a good choice?Would you have had the personal qualities to do what s/he did? How might things have turned out if this person had not made the same choices?
V.Conclusion
How to Write a Notecard
1. On the red line of your notecard, you need to write thetopicof the card.
2. Next, you need to write thesourceof your information.The source should be written in this order:Author of book.(Date of Publication).Title of book.City, State: Publisher.Page Number.where you found the information.If you are using information from the Internet, list the title of the site and the URL.If you are using a computer encyclopedia, you do not need to include the name of the author.
3. The last thing you should put on the card is theinformation.This should not be in sentence format.Just write the important information.Do not copy every word from your source.Pick out the important things only!!!
4. Be sure that you only have one topic and one source on each notecard.You don’t want to write something about a person’s childhood on the same card as something about his political career.You also don’t want to include 2 different sources on the same card.
5.If you have information from one source, don’t use the same information from another source.6.You must use at least two book sources and two Internet sources.
How to Write a Bibliography
A bibliography is a list of the sources you used to get information for your essay.You must give credit to the authors whose information you used.
1.Title:On the center of the top line of your paper, you need to write the word “Bibliography”.
2.On the next lines, you need to write the sources that you used.You will cite them in the same way you did on your notecards.Be sure to use the correct punctuation marks (see the example below)!
3.Sources need to be listed in alphabetical order by the last name of each author.
4.Internet sites need to be listed separately from the books or encyclopedias you use.
EXAMPLE:
Bibliography
Baker, John.(1958).History of the American Revolution.Centerville, CA: Write Publications.Pages 211 – 215.
Denver, Betsy.(1997).The Life and Times of Deborah Sampson.New York, NY:McGraw-Hill.Pages 23 – 28.
Encyclopedia Britannica.(1978).Volume 14.Cambridge, MS: Harvard Press, 1998.
Winger, Susan.(1978).Famous American Women.Los Angeles, CA: Westing Publications.Pages 41-42.
Internet Sites
Deborah Sampson Home Page,www.deborahsampson.com
Women of the Revolutionary War,www.womenrevwar.com
Presentation Poster
When you present to the class, you must include a presentation poster.You will need to provide this poster yourself.You can purchase a piece of poster board at Wal-Mart, The Dollar Store, CVS, Walgreen’s, etc.Many grocery stores carry poster board.You may choose any color you like, as long as your information can be seen easily.You need to include the following on your poster:
1.Title
2.At least two pictures of your historical figure
3.Information that you learned during your research
4.Your name
You Want Me to Talk forHowLong??
1.Your presentation must be at least 3 minutes, but no longer than 5 minutes long.A 5% grade deduction will be made for each 30 seconds under 3 minutes and each 30 seconds over 5 minutes.(Questions from the audience are not included in the time restrictions.)
2.You may use notecards for your presentation, but you may not read from your essay or use your research notecards.
3.During your presentation, you need to share with the class what you learned about your topic.You probably won’t have time to tell them everything that you learned.Just share the most important points.Your poster can help you with this.
4.At the end of your speech, you need to hold a question and answer session with the audience.The teacher will limit this to 5 minutes for you.
5.You will be graded on the following:
Organization of the speech
Presentation skills(eye contact, volume, clearness of speech)
Time
Scoring Criteria
Note cards will be graded on the following:
On time (due at school Tuesday, April 12)
Source information is formatted correctly
Notecards use notes, not complete sentences
Each notecard contains unique information
Sufficient number of notecards(minimum of 8)
Rough drafts will be graded on the following:
On time (due at school Friday, April 15, and Thursday, April 21)
Follows the outline – 5 separate paragraphs with specific information in each
Makes use of information from at least 4 sources
Poster will be graded on the following:
Contains required elements
Neatness
Use of space
Creativity
See rubrics on the next pages for the Presentation and the Report.
Notecard RubricCATEGORY / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
Quality / Information on index cards is recorded and organized neatly in the required manner. / Information on index cards is recorded legibly and are somewhat organized according to requirements. / Information is recorded on index cards. / Information on index cards is recorded only with peer/teacher assistance and reminders.
Quantity / There are 8 or more index cards. / There are 6 or 7 index cards. / There are 5 index cards. / There are 4 or fewer index cards.
Number of Sources / There are more than 4 different sources given, with at least 2 internet and at least 2 print sources. / 4 different sources are given- 2 internet and 2 print. / At least 4 different sources are given, but not 2 of each - internet and print. / 4 different sources are not given.
Research Report Rubric
CATEGORY / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
Organization / Information is very organized with well-constructed paragraphs. / Information is organized, but paragraphs are not well-constructed. / Information is organized, but there are no paragraphs. / The information appears to be disorganized. 8)
Amount of Information / Exceptional amount of information. Addresses all topics fully. / All topics or questions are answered. / Most topics or questions are answered. / Several topics were not addressed.
Quality of Information / Information clearly relates to the main topic. It includes several supporting details and/or examples. / Information clearly relates to the main topic. It provides 1-2 supporting details and/or examples. / Information clearly relates to the main topic. No details and/or examples are given. / Information has little or nothing to do with the main topic.
Bibliography / All sources are accurately documented in the desired format. / All sources are accurately documented, but a few are not in the desired format. / All sources are accurately documented, but many are not in the desired format. / Some sources are not accurately documented.
Mechanics / No grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors. / Almost no grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors / A few grammatical spelling, or punctuation errors. / Many grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors.
First Draft / Detailed draft is neatly presented and includes all required information. / Draft includes all required information and is legible. / Draft includes most required information and is legible. / Draft is missing required information and is difficult to read.
Paragraph Construction / All paragraphs include introductory sentence, explanations or details, and concluding sentence. / Most paragraphs include introductory sentence, explanations or details, and concluding sentence. / Paragraphs included related information but were not constructed well. / Paragraphing structure was not clear and sentences were not typically related within the paragraphs.
Revolutionary War Poster Rubric
CATEGORY / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
Required Elements / The poster includes all required elements as well as extra information. / All required elements are included on the poster. / All but 1 of the required elements are included on the poster. / Several required elements were missing.
Graphics - Originality / Several of the graphics/pictures used on the poster show a lot of student creativity in their creation and/or display. / One or two of the graphics used on the poster show creativity in their creation and/or display. / The graphics are made by the student, but are based on the designs or ideas of others. / No graphics made by the student are included.
Mechanics / There are no grammar, spelling, punctuation, or capitalization mistakes on the poster. / There is 1 grammar, spelling, punctuation, or capitalization mistake on the poster. / There are 2 grammar, spelling, punctuation, or capitalization mistakes on the poster. / There are more than 2 grammar, spelling, punctuation, or capitalization mistakes on the poster.
Attractiveness / The poster is exceptionally attractive in terms of design, layout, and neatness. / The poster is attractive in terms of design, layout and neatness. / The poster is acceptably attractive though it may be a bit messy. / The poster is distractingly messy or very poorly designed. It is not attractive.